USAID helped the Kikinda Farmers’ Cooperative purchase thirty metal greenhouse frames and seedling containers, and secure individual commercial bank loans to purchase plastic tarpaulins and other equipment for their new greenhouses. The association’s successful production of tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers and melons has enabled them to repay their bank loans and apply for new credit to further increase production.

The number of farmers in the Kikinda Farmers’ Cooperative is increasing – its membership has more than tripled. The number of co-op greenhouses has more than tripled with seventy-five additional greenhouses being purchased by new association members for their farms with support of commercial bank loans.

In 2003, USAID helped twenty-five of the association’s leading farmers establish a modern agricultural cooperative. The Farmers Vegetable Association and Kikinda Farmers’ Cooperative now have a combined membership of 153 farmers located in five neighboring municipalities. In 2003, one year after the project started, eighty farmers produced 278 tons of greenhouse vegetables, generating total revenues of $185,000, a twenty-three fold increase.